Endeavour emerged at 11:25 p.m. PDT (2:25 a.m. EDT; 0625 GMT)
Thursday (Oct. 11) from a United Airlines hangar, which served as
the space shuttle's temporary shelter since
arriving at the airport on a NASA jumbo jet last month.

Rolling west from the airport on Westchester, Endeavour's route
takes it along La Tijera Boulevard to the parking lot of a
shopping center on the corner of Sepulveda Parkway, where it will
stop for about nine hours.

Although not a publicized viewing area for the public, local
police departments advised thousands may turn up to see Endeavour
waiting for its next move.

That won't come until the afternoon, when transformer lines are
de-energized and raised. Once ready, Endeavour will travel down
Manchester Boulevard, cross into Inglewood and then stop again
for six hours as the next set of utility work gets underway.

The power line work will result in rolling blackouts following
the shuttle's path.

Endeavour's second stop of the day, which is expected to span
4:15 p.m. to about 11 p.m. PDT (7:15 p.m. to 2 a.m. EDT; 2315 to
0600 GMT), will park it near the landmark Randy's Donuts with its
oversized donut-shaped roof sign. For the shuttle's move, the
shop installed a small model of Endeavour inside the hole of the
32-foot-wide (9.7 m) donut.

Tundra crossing

Friday's start and stop moves lead up to the space shuttle
Endeavour crossing over the 405 freeway.

The truck, which Toyota says was not modified from what is found
on the sales lot, will be driven by Matt McBride, a professional
stuntman and precision driver whose credits include numerous car
commercials and feature films, such as last year's "Transformers:
Dark of the Moon" and "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" coming out in 2013.

Astronaut Garrett Reisman, who launched on Endeavour in 2008,
will ride in the Tundra with McBride.

Toyota's involvement continues a
partnership between the car company's USA division and the
California Science Center to provide support and awareness of the
space program and education of the public through exhibits and
programs. The pickup that will be used to tow Endeavour will also
go on display at the CSC as part of an interactive exhibit on the
physics of leverage.

Once over the freeway, Endeavour will be moved back onto its
transporter and then will wait on Manchester, out of sight of the
public, until daylight Saturday to continue to its first of two
celebration events.

Endeavour will cover the first 3 miles (4.8 km) of its 12-mile
(19 km) journey on Friday. The bulk of its road trip will be
accomplished on Saturday (Oct. 13), with its arrival at the
science center anticipated around 8:30 p.m. PDT (11:30 p.m. EDT;
0330 GMT).

Endeavour's final journey, which the CSC dubbed " Mission 26:
The Big Endeavour," will formally get underway with a 30
minute program at The Forum, the former indoor arena of the LA
Lakers, on Saturday at 9 a.m. PDT (noon EDT; 1600 GMT). The
event, which is expected to draw a crowd as large as 14,000
people, will feature Inglewood's mayor James T. Butts,
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Apollo 7 astronaut Walt
Cunningham.

The celebration is one of three designated public viewing
opportunities for Endeavour's move. Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
PDT (5 p.m. EDT; 2100 GMT), the space shuttle will pause again at
the corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Boulevard for an aerial and dance tribute choreographed by "Fame"
actress Debbie Allen.

The third and final public opportunity to witness Endeavour on
the move will be at Exposition Park in Los Angeles, as the
shuttle pulls up to the California Science Center.

The CSC plans to debut the shuttle on exhibit inside the Samuel
Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion with its public
opening on Oct. 30.